LOS ANGELES — Chip Kelly got an early chance to scout Arizona State receiver N’Keal Harry this summer. Harry was one of Arizona State’s representatives at Pac-12 media day in July, and when the first-year UCLA coach walked by the third-year Sun Devil receiver in Hollywood, it didn’t take long for Kelly to realize the challenge ahead.

“N’Keal Harry is probably the best receiver that we’ll face all year long,” Kelly said as the Bruins prepare to face Arizona State on Saturday.

“He can dominate in one-on-one coverage because even if he’s covered, he can still go make a play,” Kelly said. “He’s got really good speed for a guy that size and he’s got tremendous ball skills, so he’s as good a receiver as we’ll face all season, to be honest with you.”

Harry ranks third in the Pac-12 in receptions per game (6.1) and second in receiving yards per game (92). The star junior had three touchdowns on 161 receiving yards in Arizona State’s win over Utah last weekend.

Although their secondary was considered their best position group this season, the Bruins (2-7, 2-4 Pac-12) struggled against some elite receivers this season. Brown, a 5-foot-10 dynamo who was blanketed mostly by Darnay Holmes, was held to 88 yards on four receptions, but the 6-foot-2 Lamb broke through with 164 yards on seven catches. Johnson, listed at 6-foot-1, had eight catches for 85 yards against the Bruins in their loss to Fresno State, and the 6-foot-2 Shenault torched UCLA for 162 yards and 12 catches.

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When asked of how the Bruins can deal with another physically imposing receiver this weekend, safety Adarius Pickett didn’t seem worried.

“You line it up,” Pickett said. “You play football. It’s no scariness, no backing down.”

Old habits

Kelly said the Bruins dropped six passes against Oregon, their second consecutive six-drop game. The first-year head coach said the team has been “pretty good” over the season with drops, but they’ve “reared their ugly heads” in the past two games, both losses that quickly squashed any momentary enthusiasm felt from a two-game winning streak.

“When you’re playing in a close game like we played, you have a drop and it gets magnified,” Kelly said.

He reiterated that the solution is focusing on simple fundamentals: looking the catch through the tuck and not running before the ball arrives or reaching out to catch the ball instead of waiting to body-catch it.

“It’s definitely something that we’ve been struggling with all year but also something that kinda just comes and goes,” receiver Christian Pabico said of the receivers group’s collective confidence after struggling with drops in each of the past two games.

“You’re gonna have drops, you’re gonna have mistakes. We’re still kinda figuring ourselves out as an entire team, so it’s just something that we’ve been having a little bit of trouble with but definitely something we’ve been trying to focus on.”

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.